Long week ends with short work for Ogilvy in the final

Monday

Feb 27, 2006 at 12:01 AM

DOUG FERGUSONAP Golf Writer

CARLSBAD, Calif. - Geoff Ogilvy never imagined himself winning the Match Play Championship. He was too busy looking for the exit.
Ogilvy had already removed his cap when Nick O'Hern stood over a 5-foot putt to win on the 20th hole. That was on Thursday, a lifetime ago. Then came Mike Weir, 4-up with four holes to play in the third round but unable to put away the ultimate survivor of a tournament that requires nothing less
Ten times, Ogilvy was one putt away from going home.
"No one made one," he said, "which is pretty fortunate."
Ogilvy ended his long, improbable journey Sunday at La Costa Resort by making short work of Davis Love III, pulling away with a magnificent 4-iron into 6 feet for a conceded eagle and not giving Love the chance everyone else gave him to capture the World Golf Championship.
"Unbelievable," Ogilvy said after his 3-and-2 victory. "It's such a hard tournament to believe you're going to keep going. I got lucky the first four days, and the last two games I played very well."
It was a week like no other at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Ogilvy easily could have been on his way home after 17 holes in the first round, and wound up playing 129 holes for the week - breaking Jeff Maggert's record by one hole - and walking off with the $1.3 million prize.
Along the way, he rolled through a Grand Slam list of players who stood in his way - Michael Campbell (U.S. Open), Weir (Masters), Tom Lehman (British Open) and Love (PGA Championship).
For Love, it was another opportunity he let slip away.
He lost to Tiger Woods two years ago, 3 and 2, and was soundly beaten by Woods in the semifinals in 2000. But even with Woods out in the third round, Love couldn't produce timely shots.
The biggest blow came at the ninth in the afternoon. He had won two holes to cut the lead to 1-up for Ogilvy, and the Aussie was in trouble short of the green. Love's 6-iron sailed into the gallery, and he stomped his foot and clenched his teeth, knowing he might have lost an opening to square the match.

"I'm aiming 20 feet left of the pin and I hit it 20 feet right of the green," Love said. "That was the one that killed me because I had a little bit of momentum."
The victory came on the anniversary of Ogilvy's first PGA Tour trophy last year in Tucson, when Ogilvy was ranked outside the top 64 and not eligible for this event. Now, he will move into the top 30 in the world and probably return to Tucson when the Match Play Championship moves there next year.
"I go back to defend in Tucson for two tournaments," he said. "That probably never happened before."
Another rarity came in the afternoon round of his 36-hole championship match. The 18-hole consolation match ahead of him was so slow that Ogilvy and Love had to wait as much as 10 minutes for their next shot.
"I've never been one of four people on a golf course and was waiting," Ogilvy said.
It became such a nuisance that Love asked rules officials if they could play through, and it certainly affected the momentum each finalist was trying to capture.
Zach Johnson ended up beating Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman on the last hole.
"We got to see a lot of their match," Love said.
Ultimately, Love witnessed the same weakness in his game that cost him other chances in the Match Play Championship, and other chances to win his first PGA Tour event since 2003.
He couldn't produce shots when he needed them, whether it was an iron into the green or a putts that swung momentum the other direction.
In the morning, he was on the verge of going 2 up on the 14th hole when he lipped out a 3-foot par putt and halved the hole, then pushed his drive on the 15th into the right rough and made double bogey. Ogilvy took his first lead with a 6-foot birdie on the 16th.
"Missing the little putt at 14, and then to miss the fairway at 15, I was compounding mistakes," Love said. "I let him get back in it."
Ogilvy was 1-up after the morning round, and Love tried to set the tone. Instead, he missed three birdie putts inside 12 feet as Ogilvy grabbed a 3-up lead through 22 holes. Love pitched out of deep rough to save par on the next hole, birdied the sixth and pulled within one when Ogilvy missed a 5-foot par putt on the seventh.
Given an opening, Love tripped on his way through the door.
Ogilvy chopped up the ninth, hitting into rough short of the green, flubbing his chip into the bunker and having to scramble for bogey. Love went over the green, chipped to 10 feet and missed his par putt. Love had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole to square the match, but left it short.
And that was his last chance.
From the fairway on the par-5 11th, Ogilvy hit 4-iron from 227 yards into 6 feet for an eagle he never had to putt when Love went long into the bunker against a slope and blasted out across the green.
"The best shot I hit all week," Ogilvy said. "That really turned it for me."
He followed that with a 5-iron into 8 feet for another birdie to go 3-up, then it was a matter of time when Love took four shots to reach the 14th green, and Ogilvy made a 25-foot putt for par and a 4-up lead with four to play.
Ogilvy was the No. 52 seed, the third-highest to win in the eight-year history of the event behind Kevin Sutherland (No. 62) and Steve Stricker (No. 55).
But none of the other surprises had a week like this.
He set a tournament record by going overtime four straight matches to start his wild week at La Costa, all of them looking like sure defeat.
But he kept sticking around one extra day, until there was nothing left to do but hoist the trophy.